Can you wonder on your own or do excursions? RCL says we have to do their tours!

[vacationers]

We are leaving on the Majesty, May 9th.

No RCI excursions booked.

Have dinner arranged first night ashore, then onto some bars. Maybe a club.

Next day a tour booked vi Blexie from 10 am-4pm (May be a little earlier, ship sails at 4) 130Cu for a group of 4.

 

2 Brits and 2 US citizens.

 

We live in Tampa and thinking of doing this cruise. Can you please tell me the restaurant you are going to and how did you find out about it. Also which excursion are you taking? do they have a website

 

Clary

[vacationers]

Thank you to everyone that took the time to answer my post. Now I know what to do.

 

Does anyone know the price of the excursion with belie. I do not see it.

 

Clary

[Magnetchief]

We live in Tampa and thinking of doing this cruise. Can you please tell me the restaurant you are going to and how did you find out about it. Also which excursion are you taking? do they have a website

 

 

 

Clary

 

 

 

Clary, you can look at trip adviser for restaurant recommendations.

We had to call and talk directly.

Seems internet contact is spotty at best.

Our trip was booked via Blexie. He will give you a cost once contact is established.

Use the email listed above. Takes a few days for a reply.

Have fun. Will see you there

 

 

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[MemphisGuy]

To the OP, just to help finalize any fears. This statement comes directly from the RCCL website:

 

 

Can I purchase a tour through a third-party company?

You may purchase a tour with a third-party company. However, it is the responsibility of the guest to ensure the purchased tour complies with the new US regulations, is sponsored by a U.S. organization, and offers a full-day schedule of educational exchange activities.

 

Here is the full link:

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/cuba/faq

 

Check the section titled: CUBA TRAVEL Requirements

 

Hope your trip goes well.

[Holly2]

That is good news. Hope all lines adopt that policy.

[pizzalady1]

We live in Tampa and thinking of doing this cruise. Can you please tell me the restaurant you are going to and how did you find out about it. Also which excursion are you taking? do they have a website

 

Clary

 

Here is the Blexie site http://havanatours.wixsite.com/blexie. You might also look at Old Car Tours http://oldcartours.com. I found the Old Car Tours website a good source of places to see and it was easy to pick a tour. There are pictures of the cars you can reserve for the tour. From reading other posts, there are many old cars and guides outside of the port area.

[LB_NJ]

This is the official line that RCI must give it's passengers and it is technically true. US citizens really can't go to Cuba without being of some "official" people to people tour and all RCI tours do comply. So what is the reality? You will be a given an affidavit you must sign at embarkation in Miami. It is a legal US document stating you are on a cruise line sponsored people to people tour. However, once the ship docks in Havana and disembarkation starts - no one from RCI checks nor does the Cuba officials care. It would be a complete nightmare if security had to check everyone disembarkation the ship. If you do get off the ship with out doing an official RCI "people to people tour" then you are violate of your signed affidavit. However, there is no way the US state department would even remotely check to see if you were in violated your signed affidavit unless maybe you committed some sort of crime and were detained in Cuba. Again, you can freely get on and off the ship in Cuba and you are not required to take any RCI sponsored tour. So why doesn't the cruise line tell you this...because they really can't tell you to violate your signed affidavit plus they would prefer you to booked one of their overpriced tours which does satisfy US law.

 

 

FYI, it sounds like you would be planning to violate US law. FYI, not that many people go to jail for violating US tax law but there are some that do.

[Holly2]

That is incorrect. You can check “ in support of Cuban people.” Blexie tours are more in compliance than ship tours which use govt buses.

[broberts]

FYI, it sounds like you would be planning to violate US law. FYI, not that many people go to jail for violating US tax law but there are some that do.

 

Presumably those laws only apply to US citizens and residents of the US.

[LB_NJ]

Presumably those laws only apply to US citizens and residents of the US.

 

 

Have no clue about the application of the laws past that US citizens have to comply with US laws.

However, this was on the state department's website:

 

Travel to Cuba is regulated by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Anyone located in the United States, regardless of citizenship and nationality, must comply with these regulations. Individuals seeking to travel to Cuba are not required to obtain licenses from OFAC if their travel is covered by a general license. If travel is not covered by a general license, you must seek OFAC authorization in the form of a specific license. Travelers who fail to comply with regulations may face penalties and criminal prosecution. See the Department of Treasury

webpage.

For travel-specific questions, please see

31 C.F.R. 515.560

and OFAC's

Frequently Asked Questions

.

[Go-Bucks!]

FYI, it sounds like you would be planning to violate US law. FYI, not that many people go to jail for violating US tax law but there are some that do.

Please post the law that specifically says that passengers are violating U.S. law if they do not take only ship tours.

[CarribeanCruise321]

First thing....the visa is not from Norwegian....Norwegian is purchasing the visa from Cuba for you. You are paying the cruiseline (ours cost $75) and they are just purchasing it for you as a convenience. You can go to a Cuban embassy to get it, but who needs that hassle if the cruiseline will get it. It is a Cuban law that you must get a visa in order to step foot on their land....it's not a cruiseline rule. Since everyone must have one, this obviously has nothing to do with excursions.

 

The American government is the one who made up the rules of having to choose a license to travel to Cuba. The one to choose is "Support for Cuban People." It does not say you have to take a ship tour or cannot go meet the Cubans on your own. You are promising not to patronize the list of forbidden places. By taking private tours or patronizing the local citizens establishments, you ARE supporting the Cuban people!

 

Don't let the cruiselines bully you into buying their expensive excursions unless you want to...we did go on one ship tour and it was great....but it was our choice. Everything else we did was on our own or a private tour.

 

So will NCL only obtain the visa for you if you go through their excusion?

[CruiseGal999]

So will NCL only obtain the visa for you if you go through their excusion?

 

I was on an NCL Cuba cruise last year. NO ... the Visa for Cuba and the NCL Excursions have nothing to do with each other.

 

As far as I know and as much as I've read here on CC from people who have visited & returned from Cuba AFTER 'The Announcement' ... you CAN do private Cuba tours on your own. Make sure they are privately owned by the people and not the government. OldCarTours.com is a privately owned company and an excellent one. I used them for 2 tours during my 1 1/2 days in Havana.

 

Having NCL purch./process the Cuba Visa for you is a SUPER convenient way to get the REQUIRED Visa to enter Cuba.

[CarribeanCruise321]

I was on an NCL Cuba cruise last year. NO ... the Visa for Cuba and the NCL Excursions have nothing to do with each other.

 

Having NCL purch./process the Cuba Visa for you is a SUPER convenient way to get the REQUIRED Visa to enter Cuba.

 

Thank you. According to Royal Caribbean, they automatically facilitate visas for their guest and charge the $75 fee on their onboard account. Each guest will receive their Visa during embarkation in Miami. Is NCL like this as well?

[CruiseGal999]

Thank you. According to Royal Caribbean, they automatically facilitate visas for their guest and charge the $75 fee on their onboard account. Each guest will receive their Visa during embarkation in Miami. Is NCL like this as well?

 

Yes ... and if I remember correctly, I had to specify (check a box?) that I wanted NCL to process my Visa for me. It was $75 and a separate line item on the invoice.

[CruiseGal999]

Thank you. According to Royal Caribbean, they automatically facilitate visas for their guest and charge the $75 fee on their onboard account. Each guest will receive their Visa during embarkation in Miami. Is NCL like this as well?

 

Sorry ... didn't mean to talk NCL on a RC thread. I just HATE when cruise lines 'try' to coerce customers into purchasing the overpriced cruise line excursions.

 

NCL did the exact same thing to me and that was BEFORE 'The Announcement'. So I thought I'd share.

[CarribeanCruise321]

Yes ... and if I remember correctly, I had to specify (check a box?) that I wanted NCL to process my Visa for me. It was $75 and a separate line item on the invoice.

 

Thank you again! One last question. According to NCL's website:

 

"All guests must complete a certification form which sets forth and confirms that they will be participating in OFAC-compliant activities. Certification must be received by Norwegian no later than 3 days prior to the departure date. Please be advised that guests will not be able to board the vessel without having first completed the form."

 

Was this the case with you? Did you have to specify your itinerary with them before they would let you on the ship? A link is provided to verify that your activity meets regulation, but can only be filled out AFTER you book your cruise:

 

https://ncl.secure.force.com/CubaTravelAffidavit

 

https://www.ncl.com/freestyle-cruise...avel-documents

[CruiseGal999]

Thank you again! One last question. According to NCL's website:

 

"All guests must complete a certification form which sets forth and confirms that they will be participating in OFAC-compliant activities. Certification must be received by Norwegian no later than 3 days prior to the departure date. Please be advised that guests will not be able to board the vessel without having first completed the form."

 

Was this the case with you? Did you have to specify your itinerary with them before they would let you on the ship? A link is provided to verify that your activity meets regulation, but can only be filled out AFTER you book your cruise:

 

https://ncl.secure.force.com/CubaTravelAffidavit

 

https://www.ncl.com/freestyle-cruise...avel-documents

 

My cruise was May 2017 ... I did not have to deal with the 'new' rules/regs. on GROUP people to people ... Sorry.

[CruiseGal999]

My cruise was May 2017 ... I did not have to deal with the 'new' rules/regs. on GROUP people to people ... Sorry.

 

I should say we did have to do the OFAC and select "People to People Educational Exchange", something like that. We do have to keep our receipts and notes and anything we determine to be 'documentation' of our trip & interactions with the Cuban people for 5 years.

 

And, FYI, I did NOT do 8 hours a day (well couldn't on day 2 if I wanted to :D).

[CarribeanCruise321]

I should say we did have to do the OFAC and select "People to People Educational Exchange", something like that. We do have to keep our receipts and notes and anything we determine to be 'documentation' of our trip & interactions with the Cuban people for 5 years.

 

And, FYI, I did NOT do 8 hours a day (well couldn't on day 2 if I wanted to :D).

 

But did they make you verify your itinerary online through their website prior to boarding?

[CruiseGal999]

But did they make you verify your itinerary online through their website prior to boarding?

 

No, we did not have to verify our itinerary on the website.

[Go-Bucks!]

But did they make you verify your itinerary online through their website prior to boarding?

I think the cruiselines are each handling the details a bit differently, but a couple things will be the same.

 

1) The visa is a Cuban requirement in order for any foreigner to step foot on Cuban soil. Has NOTHING to do with excursions or the affidavit. You can either purchase it yourself at a Cuban embassy or consulate OR your cruise line will purchase it for you. Sounds like all the lines are getting them for passengers and either charging for it on your onboard account or including it in final payment. Most seem to charge $75 and the mandatory Cuban health insurance is included. You actually get the visa during check in at embarkation.

 

2) The affidavit (the license that you claim is the reason why you're going to Cuba) needs to be filled out and signed by all passengers who leave from the USA. This is an Amerrican government requirement, not the cruiselines or Cuban government. Before Nov, 2017, we were instructed to check the "people-to-people" option. Apparently that option is gone and now the option to choose is "support the Cuban people." The rule says that tours should meet OFAC rules, but doesn't say whether they can be private or ship tours. And nothing is mentioned about going out on your own and doing activities that support Cuban people. There are no specifics in the rule except a list of forbidden places to go. We had to fill out the affidavit, sign it then fax it back to the cruiseline (Oceania) ahead of the cruise, but when we checked in at embarkation, we had to do it again. They had highlighted which license to check!

 

You do not have to share your itinerary with anyone!! Do not let a cruise line bully you into buying their expensive tours unless you want to.

 

Have a a wonderful trip...Cuba was great! :D

Edited April 2, 2018 by Go-Bucks!

[CarribeanCruise321]

I think the cruiselines are each handling the details a bit differently, but a couple things will be the same.

 

The affidavit (the license that you claim is the reason why you're going to Cuba) needs to be filled out and signed by all passengers who leave from the USA. This is an Amerrican government requirement, not the cruiselines or Cuban government. Before Nov, 2017, we were instructed to check the "people-to-people" option. Apparently that option is gone and now the option to choose is "support the Cuban people." The rule says that tours should meet OFAC rules, but doesn't say whether they can be private or ship tours. And nothing is mentioned about going out on your own and doing activities that support Cuban people. There are no specifics in the rule except a list of forbidden places to go. We had to fill out the affidavit, sign it then fax it back to the cruiseline (Oceania) ahead of the cruise, but when we checked in at embarkation, we had to do it again. They had highlighted which license to check!

 

You do not have to share your itinerary with anyone!! Do not let a cruise line bully you into buying their expensive tours unless you want to.

 

Have a a wonderful trip...Cuba was great! :D

 

But the issue with Norwegian (at least from what I understand on their site) is that they want you to electronically certify through their website that the specific activities meet their official requirements as opposed to just filling out on a from the general "Support for the Cuban People" category (pictures inclided).

 

 

https://www.ncl.com/freestyle-cruise/cruise-travel-documents

[Magnetchief]

But the issue with Norwegian (at least from what I understand on their site) is that they want you to electronically certify through their website that the specific activities meet their official requirements as opposed to just filling out on a from the general "Support for the Cuban People" category (pictures inclided).

 

 

 

 

 

https://www.ncl.com/freestyle-cruise/cruise-travel-documents

 

 

 

Glad I’m not sailing with Norwegian then.

That sounds like a real pain.

 

RCI for the win.

 

 

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[pbenjamin]

There was some confusion here. NCL is not doing anything different than the other cruise lines.